


Cheating Death

by twowritehands



Category: Travelers (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, Piercings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-26 09:49:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20740253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twowritehands/pseuds/twowritehands
Summary: The night following the mission to retrieve the meteor at the lake. Trevor visits Phillip's bedroom.





	Cheating Death

It was hard to say what woke Philip in the middle of the night. At first, he thought it had been a transmission on the com, but the waves were silent. Then he heard a sound in the hallway and alarm shot through him like a hit of bad heroine. He sprang to his knees on the bed.

"Whoa, hey! It's just me!" Trevor's voice rang out in the dark the same moment Philip detected the outline of his friend in the bedroom door way.

"Trevor. You scared me."

"I apologize," he said stoically. 

Philip lowered back into his warm nest of blankets and pillows. His heart was still racing.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's cool…" Philip said. The room fell silent. Philip waited. 

He knew by now that his roommate would get to the point eventually. It was better not to prod him and derail his thoughts. Trevor had a unique way of keeping time that was all about savoring minutes by the second. 

"I'm having trouble sleeping after the events at the lake," he finally said. 

Philip half smiled into the dark to learn he wasn't the only one rattled by the latest mission. He moved out of the bed, inhaled and spoke his thoughts quietly, "The alpha protocol is a lot to take in."

"Nine volunteers before it was a successful mission." Trevor said.

Philip took his hand--his skin was cold. He tugged him toward the bed. "Yeah. Nine times the faction nearly won. It's scary how close they came."

"I've cheated death more than anyone else on the planet, and yet, today, I died nine times."

Philip rebuilt the nest for two and dragged Trevor into it. "But we didn't die today. The Alpha Protocol prevented it from happening."

The way Trevor squirmed and curled into the nest meant that he had had no idea how cold he'd been. He did that classic shuddery inhale of someone feeling tense muscles release unexpectedly. "It happened; otherwise they wouldn't have known to make it unhappen."

"It really bothers you." Philip observed. Since meeting the engineer, he had seen nothing get to him like this. Not even being held in a cage and tortured.

"Is it a surprise to you that I don't want to die?"

"None of us want to die."

"Exactly."

Philip frowned into the dark. It sort-of felt like Trevor had delivered a pearl of wisdom, or at least concluded something profound, but Philip wasn't sure what. 

Trevor's body swelled with a deep breath. "Hmm. This is nice. Thank you for sharing it with me."

Philip smiled bigger. "Any time... Should we meditate?" he asked, already focusing in on the sensation of the blankets settling over every inch, his head slowly sinking deeper and deeper into his pillow. It was what Trevor always suggested they do. It was like their thing. (Well, that and flirting. But Trev flirted with everyone, by rights as a crazy old man.)

"Actually…"

The shy tone of voice made Philip's eyes fly open. He fisted the blanket at his chest. Actually... what? 

Trevor turned onto his side, and his hand rasped over the six inches of mattress between them to skim ever so slightly down Philip's arm.

"I'm beginning to see how cheating death in a frail old body isn't the same as cheating it in a young one."

Philip's skin tighten and lift in chill bumps of anticipation of more feathery touches.

"Oh? Are we talking…?"

"To be blunt, yes."

They chuckled softly

"It was the worst part of being in the hospital, as a matter of fact. With that thin curtain, heart monitors and medical staff everywhere. At least this time, I'm free to explore this amazing feeling in private while it's fresh."

Philip's breaths were roars in his own ears. Again, those fingers skimmed his arm, invitingly. So he reached over, blindly, and touched back. 

He made contact with a clavicle first. He could feel a pulse jumping there, and lots of warm skin. Trevor was shirtless, he belatedly realized. He felt smooth and practically hairless. Philip mapped his nipples and abs--wow, he had actual _ grooves _ to trace--

His hand brushed along a slick hot tip of an erect penis. 

Fuck. Trevor wasn't wearing bottoms of any kind. He was naked. Totally. Naked. 

Philip's hand froze on his bare abdomen as second thoughts bombarded him. Was it wise to proceed here? Would it break a protocol?

Sensing the hesitation, Trevor ceased touching him. "Please tell me if I have assumed too much here. I can go."

Philip gulped. "It isn't that…. The last person I did this with... "

"Jenny."

"She betrayed me. I almost killed 4 million people and… ."

"I understand how that must make you feel vulnerable." Trevor sounded schooled, which was hard to do. "I should have realized. This was a bad idea."

Neither of them actually moved. Philip's hand was still resting, light as a butterfly, on Trevor's lower belly. A hair's breadth from the throbbing arousal that had brought him here. 

"Just tell me. If there was anyone else sleeping here tonight, would you have still chosen me?"

Again, Trevor took his sweet time answering. Philip's vulnerability increased. It wasn't that he didn't want to have sex. Holy hell did he want it. But suddenly, he worried Trevor might have adapted to the 21st's concept of casual sex, the collision of bodies with disregard for the impact to the spirit. 

Letting innocent people die every day had done enough damage, Philip really couldn't risk further compromise.

So even though he thought of Trevor more than anyone else, this couldn't happen for the wrong reasons. 

At length, Trevor spoke with the cadence of a totally different train of thought.

"You're one of those rare souls, Philip. If you live as long as I have, you can recognize them. It's why I like meditating with you so much. You spill over your edges."

Air forced through his nose. "What?"

Trevor shifted closer in the dark, and his voice was pitched softly into his ear

"I'd still be here with you, no matter who was here. Even if you were in a different body. I'd be with you... Do you understand, Philip?"

He gulped. Yes. He understood now that Trevor would not only respect the unavoidable spiritual connection, but covet it as marrow of life. His essence was in safe, reverent hands tonight. 

He trembled from his head to his toes, and tried to breathe normally. 

"I'm honored," he whispered, hoarsely.

Then his hand was suddenly on Trevor's erection. Whether Philip had moved or if Trevor had shifted to make it so, who could say? But the rigid hot flesh made Philip's breath shallow again. 

Their hips came together, grinding their swollen cocks against each other through Philip's underwear. Trevor laughed, a rather boyish sound. "Though I have to say this body you are in is unbelievably attractive." 

"You're one to talk. God, you're so ripped."

The 21st slang made them both snickered breathlessly as they wrestled. Trevor inhaled like Philip was a medicinal smoke. 

"I haven't been able to work out if it's because _ you _ are shining through or--" he cut off with a pleasure noise that made them both leak precome. 

"Or what?" Philip asked, too greedy to wait for that trademark contemplation to wrap up. Also because their escalating pleasure was severely shortening their attention spans. He didn't want them to lose the thread of conversation just yet. 

Smiling voice tripping between kisses, "If it's your nose. And--that piercing."

Philip laughed at the ceiling. "Well, if you like that, maybe--urghn--"

He cut off the same moment Trevor gasped. His roaming hands had discovered the dermal piercings on Philip's back dimples.

Another boyish laugh capped with a mannish grunt; he flipped Philip over to study the decoration properly. Though without the light on, the best he could do was map with fingers and tongue.

Now they were both gasping. 

"Why is that so sexy?" Trevor growled. His breath tickled the small hairs around the silver studs and made Philip laugh and shiver at the same time. 

Trevor dragged his boxers out of the way. Next the shirt went over his head, and pushed all his hair in his face. Philip bit his lip and felt himself slip into a kind of meditation, where he took note of every sensation against his skin and within it. He felt his spirit move, swirling with a new color, changing to accommodate Trevor's energy as it flowed into him.

It was beautiful. And it ached. 

Afterward, they settled in the nest of quilts with Philip in the sweaty crook of Trevor's arm. Hearts clanging. Throats feeling raw from so many guttural snarls of ecstasy. 

"Man, am I thrilled to have been alive for that."

He giggled. "Glad you could keep up, old man."

Trevor huffed, affectionately. "You little shit. I'll show you an old man."

Already, Trevor was hardening again. Philip wasn't far behind, but stopped the next kiss. "Wait. Lights on this time. So you can see the tattoos."

Trevor went breathless, and growled with approval.

_ fin _

  



End file.
